• Ten avant-garde posters from the early Soviet era
  • Ten avant-garde posters from the early Soviet era
  • Ten avant-garde posters from the early Soviet era
  • Ten avant-garde posters from the early Soviet era
  • Ten avant-garde posters from the early Soviet era

Ten avant-garde posters from the early Soviet era

$7,500.00

Russian film posters of the mid-1920s to early 1930s are unlike any film posters ever created. Although the period of artistic freedom in the Soviet Union was brief, these powerful, startling images remain among the most brilliant and imaginative posters ever conceived. The Russian film poster artists experimented with the same innovative cinematic techniques used in the films they were advertising, such as extreme close-ups, unusual angles, and dramatic proportions. They montaged disparate elements, such as adding photography to lithography, and juxtaposed the action from one scene with a character from another. They colored human faces with vivid colors, elongated and distorted body shapes, gave animal bodies to humans and turned film credits into an integral part of the design. There were no rules, except to follow one's imagination. 

Like everything else in the Soviet system, poster production was centralized and state-controlled. Reklam Film was the Sovidno department which oversaw the production of all film posters. Sovidno operated four movie studios and twenty-two different production units, many of which had their own film poster departments. Some of the production units, especially those in the outlying republics like Uzbekistan and Georgia, had their own poster designers or employed their set designers to create posters. However, all posters had to be approved by Reklam Film. 

This collection includes ten rare and historically significant Soviet posters from the 1920s and 1930s. Highlights include The Girl from a Distant River [1928], known for its imaginative design during the Soviet Union's brief period of artistic freedom. Other notable posters include Sigismunds Vidbergs's agitprop Plakāts Kultūras Balss [1920], the German adventure film Ice Carnival [On Dangerous Tracks, 1924], and the American silent drama Secrets [1924]. The collection also features a Latvian football championship poster [circa 1924–25], the Soviet film Demon of the Steppes [1926], the Soviet-Georgian film Maksim Maksimich [1927], and Bernard’s Les Misérables [1934]. 

As with all works of art, rarity and condition affect a poster's value, however, the rarer a poster, the less condition is a factor. Although the artists knew these posters were ephemeral, meant to be plastered on building walls for only a few weeks, they nevertheless designed them with great style and imagination. We know that 8,000 to 20,000 copies were printed because the size of the print run is often stated in the bottom border of the poster. The issue, however, is not how many posters were printed, but how many survived. Today, these posters are extremely rare. This can be attributed to several factors. First, posters were not meant to be saved. They were advertisements, not works of art. As soon as a film was to be shown in a theater, posters from the previous film were discarded. Also, the posters were printed on poor-quality paper, which could not stand the test of time. Further, because paper was in short supply, a sheet containing unimportant or outdated information was often used again for other purposes. The posters in this collection have been canvas-backed, a conservation technique used to reinforce the fragile paper and preserve the artwork. This process involves mounting the poster on a sturdy canvas to provide support and prevent further deterioration, ensuring the longevity and stability of these rare and valuable pieces.

Vidbergs, Sigismunds. Plakāts Kultūras Balss. 1920. Canvas-backed paper; 31 x 23 ½

On Dangerous Tracks [Auf verwehten Spuren]. 1924. Canvas-backed paper;  oblong 43 x 30.

Three Trials [Secrets]. 1924. Canvas-backed paper; 46 x 32”.

ALL-WINNER CHAMPIONSHIP, ASK-RFK. Undated [circa 1924 or 1925]. Canvas-backed paper; 46 x 32”

Demon of the Steppes [Ветер]. 1926. Canvas-backed paper; 43 x 30”

Maksim Maksimich. 1927. Canvas-backed paper; 46 ¾ x 31 ½. 

The Girl from a Distant River (Девушка с далекой реки). 1928. Canvas backed paper; oblong 46 ½ x 32 ½. 

Les Misérables. 1934. Canvas-backed paper; 39 ½ x 28”.

Gaisma [member of the Rinda culture promotion]. PLASUS SPORTS CELEBRATION. 1937. Canvas-backed paper; 31 x 23 ½

Central Office of Trade Unions. Bread and Work [Darbu un Maizi]. Undated. Canvas-backed paper; 36 ½ x 23 ½